Page 62 of Bred Mate
And attacks him.
Her pretty clothes are ripped to shreds in an instant, torn at the seams as a massive, furred body emerges where her mature curves once reigned. Her wolf form is… not a wolf form.
She’s on two legs, her entire body covered in a thick pelt of fur. She still has arms; not wolf arms, but human arms. Her muzzle is long and filled with teeth, but her head retains something of a human shape. And it’s not just teeth her husband has to worry about. Her hands terminate in long, dangerous claws, and those claws turn Rainer into ribbons of flesh and viscera in a way that would be off-putting if we were not beasts ourselves.
The entire interaction is over in a matter of seconds. Rainer’s weapon lies twisted in the corner of the room, less a weapon, more scrap metal. His body is…
Margaret grabs the curtains next to her, tossing one over her fallen husband, and using the other as impromptu clothing. Her shift back is as swift as the initial transformation.
“I didn’t want to do that,” she says, covering herself in a drape. “I didn’t want to do any of this, but…”
“That. Was. So. Fucking. Cool,” Connor breathes.
He’s right. That was amazing. I’ve never liked my mother, but I feel a certain level of awe right now that might somewhat stand in its place.
“Language,” Margaret says, her voice demonstrating exhaustion.
“Not a fucking gain,” Karl breathes. “How many damn werewolves do we have?”
“There’re others?” I murmur the question to him.
“You’ve heard the rumors about Gray’s mate. They’re true.”
“Wow.”
We’re staring at my mother, and for the first time in my life, I feel like I sort of understand her. No wonder she always denied being a wolf shifter. She wasn’t one. She’s not a wolf. She’s something much more powerful and infinitely more rare.
“You’re amazing,” I say, kind of hating that I am saying it because I still have all the issues with her that I had before. “Why didn’t you ever tell us about this? Why did you leave us in the woods? What the fuck, Mom?”
She finally gives me an answer that makes some sense, doesn’t deflect, doesn’t lie, doesn’t try to make me feel stupid for asking the question.
“I couldn’t be a parent,” she says. “I am a werewolf, and we crave human flesh. There were times when I was tempted… when I thought I could not prevent myself from consuming my own offspring. Do you know how tender a baby is?”
“Uhm.”
“So yes, I left you in the woods, and you thrived there until Rainer bought them from the alpha of Louisiana. Then I tried to get him to keep your territory clear, but of course he wanted to put in a very big parking lot…” She sighs. “I have not handled things in the way a traditional mother would, but I have tried to provide for you.”
“Through the medium of abandonment and multiple kidnappings.”
“Yes.”
“Fair,” I say. “Respect.”
I’m surprised to learn that I actually mean it on some level. It doesn’t make up for her failings as a mother, but it does explain them. She was never normal. She couldn’t even really fit in with the packs who lived around us.
“How come we aren’t werewolves like you?”
“Your fathers were normal men,” she says. “Werewolves and typical human men make common shifters.”
I’d object to the term ‘common,’ but compared to her, it is an accurate description.
She pauses for a moment. “I’m going to have a shower and get changed. If you wouldn’t mind tidying things up, alpha, that would be much appreciated.”
“Mom’s kind of cool,” Connor says when she is gone. I expect him to talk about her transition to werewolf, but that’s not what’s on his mind. “She made me pancakes.”
“Did she?” I ask him the question pretty much automatically, in the way you do when you’re just having a conversation on autopilot. I cannot believe what I just saw. It was the most impressive display of raw power I have ever laid eyes on. A wolf kill is always something to behold, but that was on another level. She destroyed Rainer in seconds. She could have killed us all at any time, I realize. The patience she was showing before the moment she didn’t have it anymore is very impressive.
“Yeah. And she made them look like they had mouse ears? They were cute. I liked them. Can she come with us? She’s a werewolf.”
